.................................Features in detail

Haphazard constructions make HP quake-prone
By S.P. Sharma
The forest cover in Himachal Pradesh is gradually decreasing with concrete buildings and orchards coming up in place of green trees.
Take any important tourist destination--Shimla, Dalhousie, Manali or Kulu-- it is the same gloomy picture of monstrous concrete structures jutting out of denuded hillsides. Most of these structures have been constructed without the permission of the Town and Country Planning Department, which has been a mute spectator to all this illegal activity.
Unfortunately,the successive governments in the state have not taken any measures to enforce the building laws or prepare a plan to allow only such structures which fit in the hill environment. The charm of the hills has, therefore, been lost due to unplanned and illegal building activity.
The main tourist destinations of Shimla, Dalhousie and Manali have become heavily congested. The builders are, therefore, now focusing mainly on Solan district, where a number of housing projects have been taken up in complete violation of the local laws.
The green cover is not only facing the axe of the greedy builders,but also of such elements who have been felling deodar trees to make place for fruit orchards. According to an official survey, three dense forests in the upper areas of Shimla district have vanished during the past few years and apple orchards have come up in their place.
Multi-storey concrete buildings are coming up throughout the state despite the fact that Himachal Pradesh has been placed in seismic zones IV and V, which are the two highest earthquake-prone zones of the country. No one is adhering to the recommendation of the Department of Earthquake Engineering, University of Roorkee, that all buildings and water towers must strictly be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of seismic safety in zones IV and V as per the Indian Standard Codes of Practice.
The earthquake experts of the university, who surveyed the state following an earthquake in Dharamsala in 1986,have strongly recommended that it should be made mandatory that all buildings were constructed as per the Indian Standard Codes.
With a magnitude of 8 on the Richter Scale, the Kangra earthquake of 1905, which claimed over 20,000 lives, made its impact felt in an area of over 4,16,000 sq km. Kangra and Dharamsala townships suffered almost total destruction. The McLeodganj bazaar was levelled to the ground with not a single building standing even partially.
This was followed by another earthquake of 5.7 magnitude on the Richter Scale. It destroyed about 35,000 houses.
The authorities do not seem to have learnt any lesson from the fact that Himachal Pradesh and its adjoining areas have been rocked by 250 earthquakes of magnitude 4 and more during the past 100 years.
Forest officials have expressed concern over the growing encroachments on forest land. Not only individuals, but also various government departments, have also encroached on forest lands. This problem is being faced because nearly 52 per cent of the total forest area in the state is undemarcated. No assessment has been made by the authorities about the total area encroached upon. In the Shimla circle alone, 1152 encroachments over an area of 272 hectares were detected till January, 1994. Only four cases covering an area of less than 2 hectares were decided by the revenue courts.
Forest area of about 24,000 hectares is said to be encroached upon. About 17,000 hectares of this was in the undemarcated forest land.According to an official study, the area under orchards increased by about 268 per cent between 1971 and 1991 without any decrease in the agricultural area. This clearly indicates that the pressure was growing on the forest land. In 1971,the area under fruit cultivation was 44,329 hectares, and it expanded to 1,63,330 hectares in 1991. It has grown further in the past seven years. A decrease of about 15,000 hectares of forest area was noticed recently.
The modus operandi of private builders has generally been to set up “fake” cooperative housing societies to acquire land for constructing flats or independent houses as the Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act does not permit non-agriculturists to purchase land in the state. The Justice Roop Singh Commission, which was set up by the state government to probe into the benami land deals in Himachal, has in its report pointed out many illegal house building projects in the state. However, recommendations of the commission have remained unimplemented because of the alleged political and administrative clout being enjoyed by many builders.
The authorities have also failed to implement the provisions of the HP Roadside Land Control Act on the highways where hotels and resorts are coming up in violation of the Act. Most of these hotels have hardly any parking space for vehicles.
What can be expected in other parts of the state when the authorities have been helplessly witnessing the flouting of the building laws in the capital town of Shimla? High-rise buildings have been coming up in town on every side. The government is itself the main violator of these laws as most of such buildings are being constructed by its departments.
Although the government had sometime ago decided to clear the structures on the valley side to enable the tourists to have clear view of the green hills, the nine-storeyed building of the High Court,which is coming up just near The Mall, has blocked the view of Tara Devi and the adjoining hills.
Normally no building of more than four storeys is allowed in the “banned” area above the Cart Road. But construction of the high-rise court building was started without obtaining permission of the government. The Cabinet approval for the building was obtained when the structure was almost complete.
Many green trees were cut to construct buildings and as a result a landslide blocked the main Cart Road during the rains.
The law restricting the height of any building below the road level so that the scenic view on the other side is not obstructed is not being adhered to. The newly constructed building of the Town and Country Planning Department, which is responsible for enforcing the building laws, is itself violating this rule.
A leading architect pointed out that high-rise structures do not fit in the hill architecture and such buildings should not be allowed to come up.
Top architects of the country, who met here sometime ago, were concerned over the ‘concrete culture’ that is currently prevailing in this hill state.
Another eyesore that is coming up on the Cart Road is the building of the headquarters of the PWD. The multi-storey building during the process of construction has caused landslides in the area, damaging the houses. The house of a retired forest officer, D.D. Sharma, has developed cracks and the walls have disintegrated at many places due to the landslides.
A seven-storey block to house the police headquarters is also coming up right on the other side of the road. It has badly damaged the main road. All this activity is being allowed in the already overcrowded area, ignoring the fact that a large area has been earmarked for government offices near Kasumpti.
The so-called satellite township of New Shimla has been developed in a most unplanned manner by the Shimla Development Authority. It is nothing short of a slum with no green patches and breathing space. The SDA colony is a concrete jungle which has come up in place of green forest and on agricultural land.
A ropeway being built right in the heart of Shimla town has started eating up deodar trees, although the private company to whom the project has been assigned had initially claimed that no trees will be cut.
Planners have expressed concern about the unplanned expansion of the town which is overloading the slopes and destabilising the area. The destabilising phenomenon was amply demonstrated in 1971 when a large portion of the northern part around The Ridge slumped down.
It has been said repeatedly that overloading of slopes may cause small landslides initially, but, later, these could trigger larger landslides. Construction activity has been allowed between the Himland Hotel and the Secretariat, though experts have pointed out that the rocks in the area have weathered.
It is feared that illegal construction activity will be encouraged with the state government deciding to regularise all such constructions which were completed before December 31, 1996. About 4000 applications have already been received by the government.